Can lorazepam cause dementia?

Look into taking Melatonin before bed time to help you sleep. Been hearing very good reports on this.

Hello,

"The benzodiazepine study. A team of researchers from France and Canada linked benzodiazepine use to an increased risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In the study, the greater people's cumulative dose of benzodiazepines, the higher their risk.

The researchers relied on a database maintained by the Quebec health insurance program. From it, they identified nearly 2,000 men and women over age 66 who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. They randomly selected more than 7,000 others without Alzheimer's who were matched for age and sex to those with the disease. Once the groups were set, the researchers looked at the drug prescriptions during the five to six years preceding the Alzheimer's diagnosis.

People who had taken a benzodiazepine for three consecutive months or less had about the same dementia risk as those who had never taken one. But those who had taken a benzodiazepine for three to six months had a 32% greater risk of developing Alzheimer's, and those taking one for more than six months had an 84% greater risk than those who hadn't taken one.

The type of drug taken also mattered. People who were on a long-acting benzodiazepine like diazepam (Valium) or flurazepam (Dalmane) were at greater risk than those on a short-acting one like triazolam (Halcion), lorazepam (Ativan), alprazolam (Xanax), or temazepam (Restoril)."

Source: Harvard Health Publishing
Harvard Medical School

There are many safer alternatives of medications for sleep disorders/issues. I recommend you ask your Dr. which ones could work best for you and regarding Lorazepam, do not stop cold turkey/abruptly, ask your Dr. for a discontinuation schedule in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms which are a nightmare for most people who have taken benzodiazepines for longer periods of time and also depending on the dose they were on.

Please click on the link to access a list of medications with user reviews:
https://www.drugs.com/condition/insomnia.html

All the best, masso